Oil Ignited the Fire
by OverlordMiles
Summary: Gajeel was the king, the lion. He never knew he would change.
1. Shut up, will you?

**This is the first time I've even approached the concept of Romance, much less have ever been in love. I'm just using my knowledge from other FT Fanfics to try to write a Fanfic. If it sounds cheesy, that's my fault, but hopefully it turns out well. Also, sorry for the issue with the first chapter, copy/paste completely messed it up. Thanks AnimeGuitar!**  
It was about time for the Magnolia Cherry Blossom festival. Fairy Tail was always the primary group for setting it up, and, like they did everything, they overelaborated it. A normal festival would have some banners, ribbons, and other basic gear to lighten the mood. The Cherry Blossom festival had christmas-type lights everywhere. Flags with cherry trees were everywhere. Fairy Tail even did some basic woodworking and put some benches around the tree in South park, so couples could gaze at the rainbow leaves with their lovers. It would truly be a lovely night.

Except for Levy.

Master Makarov had organized people into groups of 4. Natsu, Lucy, Erza, and Happy were in a good group. Gray, Juvia, Wendy, and Charle were in a good group. Even Elfman, Mira, Lisanna, and Makarov himself were in a good group. And here she was. She was kind of happy she was in a group with Jet and Droy, her best friends. There was one person, one _single_ person that she just couldn't bear.

Gajeel.

Why was she forced to work with him? Especially after the Phantom Lord issue? He had literally hung her. And branded his guild onto her gut. And Levy could tell Jet and Droy weren't fond of this group too. She would protest, but she knew Erza would glare at her. Erza's glare put shivers down her spine. She couldn't decide which option would be worse. Droy must have seen her uneasiness, because he spoke up. "Hey, why do we have to be in a group with him?" he asked, a hint of anger and irritation in his voice. He flicked his head towards Gajeel, who had his arms crossed and was leaning against one of the corners of the guild. He didn't seem to take notice of what Droy had said. He continued standing there, looking at the ground. And Erza glared. Droy shrunk back like nothing ever happened. Getting on Erza's bad side was practically suicide.

"Well if you must know," Makarov stated; "I think you guys should get to know Gajeel. What he did in the past is the past, and what matters is that he didn't severally injure you. Not to mention he did it somewhat against his will. Jose commanded it." As much as Levy hated him, the old man had a point. "Let's just suck it up. It won't take more than an hour or two." she whispered to her friends. They seemed like they would never change their minds, but because Levy had a slight change of mind, they would have to accept. Jet and Droy were both attracted to Levy, but Levy realized that any dating would leave one of the two behind, making them feel left out. At that moment of realization she decided to just keep them as friends, but the two secretly kept their feelings for her.

"Oi, hurry up Shrimp!" Gajeel shouted. The group was in charge of receiving boxes from one side of town to Fairy Tail. It should have been a simple and leisurely task, considering most of the boxes were filled with cloth and other light decorations, but Gajeel was almost like their drill sergeant. Jet and Droy were somewhat terrified of him. Those piercings and the fact that Gajeel always wore a stern face would tend to repel people away from him. Levy definitely had a different reaction to Gajeel. _Just a few more boxes, then you don't have to deal with this jerk for a loooong time_. She was just about at her limit though.

"Short stuff! Stop daydreaming and GET ON WITH IT!" he yelled at her. She jumped. She wasn't exactly in with the real world right now. She was busy controlling her anger to the best of her ability. Don't get mad. It's almost done. _If you get mad, you'll have to-_ "SHRIMP! ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO WHAT I'M SAYING?" Gajeel yelled at her even louder. Gajeel was surprised that she didn't flinch. That wasn't a feat accomplished by many. Gajeel was shocked when he heard a shrill voice yell back at him. "Just shut up, will you? You're not making it any better by yelling." Levy felt relieved that she had finally gotten that out of her system. The anger simmered away, and she slightly picked up her pace as she picked up her final box and fast-walked away from the group to deliver it. After dropping off the box, she met up with Lucy.

"How did it go? Was it terrible?" She asked Levy. She replied, "Gajeel was pretty unbearable. It got to the point where I had to tell him to shut up." Lucy's jaw dropped. "You actually told Gajeel to shut up? Oh crap, you're screwed." she said, with fear for her friend. Levy raised an eyebrow. "He'll beat the crap out of you." Coming from her friend, a strong Celestial Spirit Mage, Levy did feel a tinge of fear. She shrugged it off, figuring he probably had a bigger bark than his bite.


	2. Shame

**Chapter 2**

After the preparations for the festival were complete, there was only one thing on his mind. Well, one person. Levy. How dare she tell him to shut up? Ohhhh, she was going to pay for that. No one talked back to Gajeel. Screw redemption! That woman needed some disciplinary action. Since she was a woman, and generally women couldn't take hits, he decided with just something to scare her. His plan was to saunter into the guild, rush up to Levy, pin her against the wall, and give her some 'polite' words of advice. Yeah, that would show her. Gajeel was the lion, the king, and he had to show everyone his power to keep the natural order in balance.

Gajeel had a 20 minute walk to the guild from his house. Generally he passed the time by singing, playing air guitar and practicing martial arts. He liked to say he was awesome at singing. The guild didn't necessarily agree. Gajeel had spent many an hour practicing, and would say he was definitely getting better. He didn't know if the guild would finally recognize his awesomeness.

Finally Gajeel arrived at the guild. By the serious look on his face, most of the people knew something was wrong. Gajeel was looking straight at Levy, a scorn look on his face. The guild was in a deadly silence, waiting for what Gajeel might do. Jet and Droy, who were sitting and cheerfully talking to Levy, noticed Gajeel walk in. Jet pointed. Droy looked. "We'll save you Levy!" they both chorused as they both assumed a fighting stance. Levy sighed. They would never change, would they?

Jet and Droy were easily brushed off by Gajeel. He simply ran up and kicked Jet into Droy, and they both crashed into the wall. _Man they're light. They need to get some muscle. _Gajeel walked a decent 30 feet from Levy. Gajeel rushed towards her.

"Solid Script: Guard!"

Levy created a defense as Gajeel rushed up to her to grab her collar. Gajeel bounced back and prepared for another assault. _Damn it, she blocked. I guess she can take a hit then._ He smirked, and a smug smile rose on his face. He came in full-force with an iron fist.

"Levyyyyy!" Droy moaned protectively.

Gajeel would remember the next moment for the rest of his life.

"Solid Script: Oil!"

Gajeel couldn't stop his momentum. He jumped, landed, and slipped backwards onto his head. Everyone heard a loud THUNK and his head hit the planks. Then he quickly slid against the wall and then lay still on the ground. Gajeel's eyes slowly closed, and he became unconscious.

* * *

Levy was amazed but terrified. She had defending herself from Gajeel AND made him unconscious. That was impressive. But what if he wasn't fine? She had never severely hurt someone before, and a feeling of guilt spread throughout her body. It became even worse when the guild started cheering. Everyone flocked over to her, surprised that someone like her had so effortlessly taken down Gajeel. After a while, the feel of guilt has just too great and she walked over to Gajeel. Lucy followed her. Lucy realized that she probably felt guilty, so instead of assaulting her with questions, she helped Levy carry him to the infirmary. He was quite heavy, but eventually the two girls managed to lug him over to a hospital bed. Levy took a pillow, raised his head, and slipped it under. After that, Levy solemnly asked Lucy, "Want to get some tea?" Lucy agreed, thinking it would calm her down, and then walked out of the guild.

* * *

Gajeel slowly opened his eyes. _Where am I? It looks like... It can't be... The Fairy Tail Infirmary? _Gajeel strained to remember what happened. Nothing came to his mind. All he felt was exhaustion and a slight feeling of nausea. And his head pulsed. The room was empty except for a smiling Mirajane. "Uuunnngghhhh..." he groaned. "I'm glad you're OK. You got hit pretty hard." Mirajane whispered sympathetically. "What happened...?" Gajeel moaned. "Was I fighting a dark guild, on a tough quest, or..." He was about to say fighting Natsu, but he shrugged the idea off because they were both practically even.

"Well, it seems you have slight memory loss. Does your head hurt or anything?" Mira asked. Gajeel nodded. "A little bit." Mirajane giggled, which irritated Gajeel, then said, almost breaking into laughter, "Well, if you must know..."

"Levy crushed you in battle."

Gajeel laughed. "Hah, good one. You'd make a great comedian." Mirajane had a straight look on her face. "You need proof? I'll walk you to the hole where you bashed into the wall." Gajeel waved his hand dismissively. "I'm not a wimp. I can walk myself." Mirajane sighed, deciding she would not win this argument because Gajeel was so stubborn. She slowly lead him to the guild. Sure enough, Erza was ex-quipped into a construction suit and was patching a hole with fresh boards using a hammer and nails.

_W-What? How...?_

And then the memories came flooding back into his mind. The festival, the frustration, the failed retaliation. He slunk down onto his knees. Levy, the smallest woman- no- person in the guild had destroyed him in battle. The shame spread throughout his whole body. He softly murmured to Mirajane, "I think I should go home now." Mirajane quietly nodded and walked back to her shift at the bar, even though no one was even there in the first place.

* * *

Levy was enjoying her Green Tea. It helped to calm her down about the previous events of the day. Lucy enjoyed a Hot Chocolate because it was late, and she didn't want to drink coffee just to get all wired up. After about 10 minutes of silently sipping, she dropped her mug to the table and told Lucy, "Done." She relaxed in her chair and slung her arms behind her neck in a triangle shape. Levy caught a dark silhouette of a tall, muscular man with spiky hair walk past the window. The figure's head was down and they were kicking at the path, probably hitting rocks. A pair of skinny red eyes glinted at her, and she quickly picked up a magazine to hide her face. She couldn't stand seeing Gajeel in his current condition.

Lucy saw her glance then hide her face. By the time she looked over her shoulder, Gajeel was gone. She pretended like nothing ever happened. By the look on Levy's face, something had happened, and Lucy had the feeling Levy didn't want to talk about it.


	3. You're the boss

_**A/N- I've noticed that most Romance fanfictions with GaLe or LuNa (I don't generally read any other ones) are all practically the same. I'm going to try to create the most diversity possible in this by combining a ton of ideas and adding my own touches and knowledge to it. I'm hoping it will turn into a masterpiece.**_

Gajeel was sitting on his torn leather couch, flipping through several TV channels. Ever since he remembered what happened, he didn't feel like doing anything. No jobs, no attempts to beat the crap out of Natsu, no motivation to have a drinking contest with Cana. He wanted to sleep, he would probably feel better in the morning, but he couldn't. He was too restless. Eventually, he stopped at a channel with a girl crying. _Good, it's probably a horror movie or something. Those never get old. _Then, he saw a guy walk up to her, and sling his arm around her neck. She calmed down a little. _Damn it, it's a Romance. Better change it._ He reached to the remote, then, to his surprise, dropped back onto the couch. _Why am I watching this crap?_

But Gajeel didn't know why.

Every other time, he would flip the channel. Find some action shows to watch. His body wouldn't move though. He tried harder to move. For some reason, his body wasn't responding. He tried harder. He was literally sweating trying to change the channel. Gajeel managed to barely raise himself off the couch then popped back down in exhaustion and started breathing heavily. He watched the romantic junk for a few minutes, then tried again to reach the remote. His body listened this time and he turned the TV off, not wanting to deal with anything else today. He walked into his bedroom, and plopped onto the bed back-first. Gajeel pulled the covers over his head and managed to fall asleep 20 minutes later.

Gajeel opened his eyes to find Lily unlocking the door. He shrunk down to his normal size after unlocking the door and pushing it open. Gajeel slowly crawled out of his bed and walked out to the front room. "Huh? Aren't you supposed to be at the guild?" Lily queried. "Nah, decided to take a day off," Gajeel replied. Lily chuckled. "Are you too embarrassed to go back after _she _beat you up?" Gajeel's face turned into a scornful glance. Lily's chuckling turned into a laugh. "Of course not! I never get embarrassed!" Gajeel shouted, sounding like a little girl. Lily was laughing so hard that his ribcage was aching. "Oh, you little..." Gajeel started chuckling too.

Gajeel and Lily laughed away their differences and sat down to watch television. Lily grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. A man and a women held each other on the screen, and then leaned towards each other. "What the hell?" Lily exclaimed angrily, quickly changing the channel. "Gajeel, you prankster! They almost kissed!" Gajeel remembered that he never changed the channel. It was pretty hilarious regardless of whether it was on purpose or accidental. "Gihihihi!"

When it reached 8 at night, Gajeel decided to check on the guild mostly because he felt better. He opened both doors at the same time, strutting in as if nothing had ever happened. Macao joked, "Ay, you're back! Didn't think you would stick your face in here again." Gajeel barely resisted the urge to punch him in the face. Instead he gave an exasperated sigh. He walked up to the bar, plopped on a stool, and ordered a beer. Mira filled up a mug and slid it down the counter to him. He clutched the handle and chugged it. He wiped his lips and ordered another one. Mira nonchalantly stated, "Don't get too drunk Gajeel..." Gajeel chuckled.

* * *

Levy was sitting with Jet and Droy when she observed Gajeel walking in. She figured he would either be furious or depressed, but he seemed chipper as usual. He got a mug and swallowed it pretty quickly. _He's gonna get drunk, isn't he? _Mirajane warned him, and then gave him another mug. Her attention was diverted when Droy started unintentionally annoying her. "Levvvvvvvy-chan! Let's go on a job!" Levy sighed. "It's this late and you want to go for a job?" Droy nodded furiously. "You know what? I'm going to do a job by myself." Little did she know that Gajeel had slowly walked over during the conversation.

"Oi, just cause you beat me doesn't mean you can take a job alone." Gajeel stated casually as if it was nothing. Levy felt offended. She could obviously take this by herself. "I owe it to ya. I let the anger get the best of me." Levy stopped her train of thought. Gajeel was... apologizing? That was...so...unnatural. "I guess if you put it that way..." Levy shrugged. She walked over to the job wall, inspecting the papers nailed to the board. Gajeel stood in the back awkwardly, looking over her shoulder. "How about this one? Gajeel suggested, pointing at a piece of paper. "200k jewels for taking down this Obscume guy. Can't be too hard." "Sounds good to me." Levy said, looking at the portrait of the convict for later reference. "Meet here tomorrow then." Levy told Gajeel. He nodded. "You're the boss."


	4. Rainstorm

_**A/N If you're wondering why the Obscume battle is so short, it's because he's like Racer: His best ability is agility so once you hit him he loses a lot of energy.**_

This was perhaps the most awkward train ride in history for Gajeel. Neither of the pair said anything, and the only thing that happened was when one of the two shifted their sitting position. It was probably less awkward for Levy, because she got the window seat (Gajeel was so bad at picking coin flips, and he tried to protest, but only agreed because she was so stubborn about it) while Gajeel's only option was to people-watch. It wasn't very fun, though, because everyone was so normal.

Finally, the train arrived after what seemed to be the longest train ride ever. (It was really only an hour and a half...) Gajeel and Levy grabbed their bags and exited the train onto the platform. "So what's our destination, shrimp?" Gajeel asked. Levy felt a tinge of anger inside of her. Slightly irritated, she said, "Supposedly he's in a forest around here. It's a pretty broad description." Gajeel nodded. _Maybe it was wrong to let him come after all? _"We should get this over with then." "Well aren't you hungry?" Levy queried. As if in response to the question, Gajeel's stomach rumbled. "I'll take that a yes." Levy chuckled.

After stopping at a simple noodle stand, the two were ready for battle against this Obscume dude. They wandered into the forest, looking for anyone that might come. Soon, little to no sunlight was filtered through the canopy. "Seems like a good place for a bandit to hide, heh." Gajeel stated. Levy nodded slightly, looking into the trees. Gajeel was looking into the trees where he heard a thump and a small squeal. He turned to find levy on the ground, grimacing. "What the...?" Levy quickly told him, "Behind you!" Gajeel turned, leaving his hand out to clothesline the guy behind him. He went "oof!" then fell back. When Gajeel leaped for him, he suddenly disappeared. "Wha-" Then, he felt a pain from behind him. _He punched me in the back! _This time, he seemed to be charging some kind of dark magic. He extended his iron arm, knocking him down and ending the spell. Obscume got up with an angry smile on his face. His whole body enveloped in darkness and grew larger and larger. Now, he contested even Gajeel's size.

First, the two exchanged punches for a while, until Obscume hit him flat in the face. He stumbled back. Before Gajeel advanced, though, the word WIND appeared in front of him and knocked Obscume into a tree. Gajeel looked back to see Levy sheepishly smiling at him. "Gihihihihihi!" Gajeel chuckled, then pounded Obscume further into the tree. Eventually, once the pair figured he was unconscious, Gajeel carried him back into town where he was thrown inside a jail cell and equipped with magic-sucking handcuffs. They then received their jewel reward and continued to the train.

On the way, it started to drizzle. Levy looked up to the sky and saw dark gray clouds stretching for miles. _Crap, hopefully this doesn't get any worse..._ Gajeel and Levy moved closer to the buildings on the right side of the road, and their awnings relatively protected them. They turned, and the train station was in view. But suddenly, the rain picked up. Then it started pouring. Unforgiving sheets of rain fell from the sky. Just after, though, they boarded the train back to Magnolia. The conductor said a message that transferred throughout the train using communication lacrima. "Hello folks. Sorry for the inconvenience," _Inconvenience? What's going to happen? _"but our train will not be able to ride anywhere today. The tracks are slippery from the rain and minor flooding has ocurred later on. All money will be refunded."

* * *

Levy and Gajeel exited the train. Gajeel grabbed Levy's hand. _What is he doing?_ "C'mon, let's go book a hotel room. Levy tried her best to run at Gajeel's pace as they hopped from hotel to hotel, looking for rooms. Finally, the fourth and final hotel in the town had an available room. A tan woman with long, straight black hair directed them to their room. As soon as the two walked into their temporary home, something was not going to work out. _Wait, does this mean..._ Levy thought. _that we have to..._ Gajeel reasoned in his mind. _SHARE A BED TOGETHER?!_ both thought at the same time. They shut the door and nervously glanced at each other, having mutual feelings. They did not want to share a bed. Luckily, much to Levy's relief, Gajeel suggested, "I'll sleep on the ground." As they continued into the room though, they realized there was no room to sleep on the ground. Gajeel audibly groaned. _Damn it, now I have to sleep with him. This is going to be awkward as heck._ The two slept on opposite sides of the bed, facing away from each other. Levy took all of the blankets, but Gajeel didn't care because he was used to the cold. For a while, he just stared at the wall. After an hour, Gajeel fell asleep.

* * *

Gajeel woke up to find Levy already getting ready. He yanked the blinds open, letting the sun shine in. As she walked out of the bathroom, he mumbled, "Good morning." Levy nodded back to him. He then waddled over to the bathroom sleepily and brushed his teeth and tried to untangle the knots in his hair. After a few minutes, both of them were ready. "C'mon, let's get breakfast. On me." Levy was surprised about how nice he really was when he wasn't trying to tear someone's face apart. "Sure, that'd be good." She said as the pair walked to breakfast and then later caught a train home.


	5. Shopping

Gajeel and Levy walked through the guild doors at around two in the afternoon. Levy walked over to chat with Lucy while Gajeel headed straight to the bar. "Hook me up." Gajeel said, chuckling. Mira got a mug, walked over to the keg, and filled it up. She then slid it over to him. "So how was the trip?" Mirajane asked him. Gajeel shrugged. "Ok, I guess. Nothing special. The bandit guy wasn't that hard." he replied. "Anything _interesting?_" Mira countered, grabbing the mug that Gajeel had chugged ever so quickly. "Nah. The rainstorm kept us couped up for a night." Mirajane simply replied with, "Ah."

After downing a few beers, Gajeel walked over to the corner and started eating some scrap metal people had saved for him. It was just about the time that Natsu and Gray would get into a fight. He mentally counted. _3... 2... 1..._ Just then, Natsu kicked the doors open. "Hey, Ice Princess!" he yelled. Gray looked back at him. "What, French Fries?" Natsu could barely hold back his laughter. "You call that an insult?" Gray's anger started to build. Gray tried to surprise-attack him, but Natsu was prepared as usual, and their fists collided with each other. They started getting into a brawl. Typical.

He looked around. Lucy was writing a story. Macao and Wakaba were drinking. Erza was leaned against the bar, talking to the master. Then there was Levy, with Jet and Droy asking her questions. Levy looked a bit nervous and was shaking her hands in front of her. Droy saw Gajeel staring at him and gave him a stern face. He then pointed two fingers to his eyes and two fingers to him. 'I'm watching you...' he mouthed. Gajeel just chuckled and walked out of the guild. He decided he was going to go home and watch TV.

* * *

_Sheesh, why do these guys have to be so clingy? Just because I went on a mission with a guy doesn't mean I have a relationship with him. I have to give them credit for their determination though. I rejected them years ago and they still try._ Levy thought to herself. Quickly thinking, she said, "I'm going to use the money I earned with Gajeel-" both of the guys shot her a hateful look. "As I was saying, I'm going to use the money I earned with Gajeel," she saw the two with squinted eyes. She sighed. "to go shopping. See you guys later." _Best excuse I can come up with at the moment. _She then walked out of the guild, jogged over to her house, and took 10,000 jewels with her to go shopping, in case she found something on the more expensive side.

After a ten minute walk, Levy was already downtown. Her blue hair swayed in the breeze and she walked with her purse over her shoulder. She checked out a few stores and bought a few accessories, dresses, and other miscellaneous items. After a while she went to a cafe and got herself some hot chocolate and a cookie. Levy had tried coffee a while ago, and it was way too bitter for her. She spent a few minutes eating and then later started walking home. She passed a grocery store when she heard a voice speaking to her. "Hello, Miss? Or are you a Misses?" he asked. He turned around to see a muscular man with a wide head and long and shaggy black hairstyle. _He looks like he isn't asking me for friendly reasons. Hmmmm._ "Oh? If you're asking, yes, I'm married." she replied, lying. She had never really lied before, come to think of it. The man looked doubtful. "To...?" She quickly replied, "Gajeel Redfox."

_Did I seriously just say that? Out of all the names I could have picked, it was that one... I have to remind me to slap myself later._ "Ah," the man replied. He hovered into Levy's personal space. _Please go away. Please... _He then whispered something into her ear. "He's going to miss you then..." Suddenly, he punched Levy in the gut. "OOOF!" was somewhat accurate to the sound she made. Her vision blurred and her eyes flickered, as she blacked out from pain. The man leaped into the darkness with her limp body.

* * *

_God damn it. There's nothing to watch. _Gajeel thought as he flickered through the channels. Eventually he sighed as he sauntered over to the refrigerator. He opened it. Nothing but some canned beans and probably expired milk. _That's it. I'm going to the store._ "Hey Lily!" he yelled to his cat. After a few second delay, he heard, "Yeah?" Gajeel replied with, "Need anything from the store?" Another delay, Lily was probably thinking. "Nah, don't think so." And with that, Gajeel left out the front door and started walking to the store.

After arriving, he perused the aisles. He got some frozen meals, (they were easy and convenient to make.) assorted pastas along with sauce jars, some fruit, and a few other miscellaneous items. He walked up to the cash register. "That'll be 200 jewels sir." Gajeel pulled out a 500. "Keep the change. Less hassle." The man at the register's eyes lit up. "Paper or Plastic, sir?" he exclaimed cheerfully. "Paper. Keep up the good work man." Gajeel told him, looking over his shoulder as he carried his bags manually.

Gajeel walked out and was about to go to his house when he saw Levy. He was going to greet her when he saw a man near her. It did not look like she had met the man before and was somewhat uncomfortable talking to them. Gajeel kept a close watch. A man was about to walk in the store when Gajeel thrust the bags into his face. "Hold this." he told them. After pausing, he added, "Please." in an awkward fashion. Gajeel snuck behind a dumpster that was closer to the two. The man whispered something in her ear and then, much to his surprise, jabbed her right in the gut. _What the hell...?_ Quickly, he made haste after the guy, chasing him behind the alley. The man was slow, and when he noticed someone running after him, picked up the speed. Without hesitation, Gajeel jumped up and kicked the guy. He stumbled onto the ground, becoming unconscious. _Wimp._ He gingerly picked up Levy and shook her. "You awake, shrimp?" Slowly, her eyes opened. "Gajeel...?" she groggily muttered. "What happened there?" he asked her. "I'm tired..." Levy replied, and then closed her eyes. She reminded him of a child, the way she peacefully dozed off.

Gajeel took his groceries back and started the annoyingly difficult job of carrying them and Levy. Finally, he reached his house. He debated whether to put Levy on the couch or give her the bed, and finally let his generosity take him over. Sighing, he placed Levy on his bed and pulled the covers over her. He patted her on the head and then walked out on to the couch, and locked on a MMA fight for a while.


	6. Realization

A_ girl chuckled as she walked up to a hotel. The lady at the front desk welcomed her. "Hello." she smiled. The lady responded with, "Ma'am, would you like to order a room?" She shook her head. "A certain blue-haired woman and a muscular man with piercings all over his body should be arriving here soon. I'll give you 30,000 jewel if you force them into a room with a queen bed." The lady opened her eyes wide. This was a month's amount of work! Of course she accepted, graciously taking the money. Soon enough, the described pair walked into the room. She smiled at the two and directed them to the 'last room available'. She then left the two and wondered why the woman would pay so much money for this._

* * *

Levy woke up feeling tired and sore. She looked around only to notice she was not in her bed. _Where- Where am I? _She looked around. Rock posters. Messy drawers. A pile of iron. _I'm at Gajeel's house! What the hell?_ She quickly sat up, only to feel a sharp pain enter her stomach. She gave an audible, "Augh!" then fell back. Gajeel heard this and walked over only to see the grimace on her face. He grabbed a pillow from the other side of the bed, lifted her head with one hand, and carefully slid the pillow under with the other. He then pulled out a chair and sat next to her. The two stared at each other, Gajeel with his elbows on his knees. "Why am I here?" Levy asked, fatigued and in a low voice as she rubbed her head. Gajeel leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms behind his neck. "Well, I was at the grocery store and I saw some guy punch you, so I ran up to be and beat the s*** out of him." Levy stared at the other wall. "Huh. I remember now." Gajeel got up and asked her, "Need anything? Hungry? Thirsty?" "Tea please, and if you have anything to eat, I'd like that too." Levy answered, now leaning sideways towards the wall.

Gajeel patted her lightly on the shoulder a few times. "Get well, kiddo." Then he went into his kitchen to fix her some tea (the only type he had was from a few years ago, but he drew a conclusion that it wouldn't expire.) and some ramen. _Her skin, it's soft. It reminds me of when I was still with Metalicana, snuggled up in her warmth. _Gajeel then slapped himself for even thinking about that kind of thing. He wasn't like that. After about ten minutes or so, the Ramen was done and so was the tea, so he walked back into Levy with the food in his arms.

"There ya go." he told her as he placed the food on the nightstand near his bed. She turned to face him. "Thanks." she replied. She sipped her tea peacefully. Gajeel was bored out of his mind. It was kind of hard to just watch someone drink tea, so he got up. "I'll be in the Living Room if you need anything." he offered, then walked out. He turned to MMA, but didn't feel like watching it because of what happened to Levy. He kept flipping through the channels. Suddenly, his hand froze. The TV was stuck on some Romance show. A man was laying on a bench with his arm around a woman, who leaned into him. _Oh god, not this again. I can't move my body. What's keeping me from moving? It can't be magic, no one currently holds a grudge against me. What else could there be? No injuries, no diseases, no Natsu... Wait, Natsu. Dragon Slayers. Could this be? No, please no..._

_My instincts are starting to kick in._

_Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap!_

_I'm big, tall, and strong, and she's mall, short, and smart. We're almost polar opposites._

_The instincts couldn't be wrong. Levy was his mate. The only way he could prevent was...was..._

_To kill her._

_And no way in hell he'd do that._

_He had no choice. Suffer his whole life, kill Levy, or make Levy his mate. _Gajeel smiled. His smile then turned into a straight face.

_God damn it, instincts._

_Well, looks like I have no choice. I've never done anything related to love before. I've hardly even had friends! This was going to be one hell of a trip. Agh, I need some time to figure this out. I'll just have to avoid Levy for as much as possible before I know what to do._

"GAJEEL!" Levy yelled, breaking Gajeel out of his thoughts. This whole time, he must have been ignoring her. He was off to a _GREAT _start. "Yes?" he asked. "Finally, it was about time," Levy replied. "Can you drive me home? No offense, but your room isn't exactly familiar to me." Gajeel sighed. _If Levy ends up acting like this for the whole time, it will be a pain to try to hold a relationship for her._ And just like that, in the swing of a few minutes, Gajeel had gone from completely normal to emotionally devastated.

Gajeel had to walk her home, which was an emotional hurricane because she couldn't walk. He carried her bridal smile all the way home. His instincts were screaming at him. **MAKE HER YOURS! SMELL HER HAIR! SHE IS YOUR'S, NOT ANYBODY ELSE'S!** It took a lot from him to not do anything. Finally, he dropped her home, and walked back. He actually went to bed early, yet he couldn't fall asleep. He tossed and turned, but did not have any luck. _Yep, one hell of a trip._

* * *

A/N In case you didn't notice, the bold is Gajeel's Dragon Slayer instincts. These are important and will give you a little more sympathy for what Gajeel is going through.

Also, make sure to review. What do you like? What don't you like? I'm not a mind reader. (Although that would be cool if I was.)


	7. The Plan

_**A/N Sorry for the short chapter, I'll admit it, I needed a lot of filler around only a few basic plot points. Don't worry, the next chapter will definitely make up for it. Also, production may be limited for this story because I am also working on another story (which you might want to check out, but compared to this story, it's not as far to be finished. This one just has generally longer chapters while the other one has more frequent but shorter chapters. I hope to make them run parallel soon.)**_

_**Read and Review, and most of all, enjoy the chapter! Things are about to escalate, don't worry ;)**_

It was another day at the guild. Gajeel walked in an hour or two after sunrise, with only a tote bag rested over his shoulder. He walked up to Mira. "Bacon and Eggs, please." Mira nodded. Right now, it was just Mira, him, and Macao and Wakaba who were mumbling to each other silently. While she was cooking, she looked around her shoulder and asked him, "What do you think of Levy?" Suddenly, all of the previous night's events flowed around in his mind like a dam had just been destroyed. _I can't deal with this s*** now. _"Eh, she's nice. At least she forgave me for the whole Phantom Lord thing." Mira looked back to her cooking, obviously unsatisfied with his answer. "Are you in some kind of relationship with her?" Mira asked.

Gajeel gave an extremely realistic laugh. "In a relationship? With shrimp? You gotta be kidding me." _No one can know about this. Except Natsu, but even then I probably won't tell that Flame-Brain._ Mira frowned as she continued to cook. Finally, she whipped out a plate, and poured the food on. Gajeel munched ravenously, like he always did. Mira's food was pretty damn good. She could charge the guild members and still get people routinely eating her food. "So if you're not in a relationship with Levy, we can place a 100,000 jewel bet and if you hook up you lose?" Gajeel froze. "Damn it Mira," he said, looking at his now-finished plate of food. She smiled. "When are you going to make your move?" Gajeel sighed and thought for a moment. "A month or two. Dragon Slayer relationships are harder and more confusing than normal humans." Mira sighed. "You can't really rush that kind of stuff, I guess."

"Well, I have just the thing when you decide to." Mirajane told him, sliding a slip of paper. It was a job. SECURITY FOR BOOK FAIR NEEDED, it read at the top. 500,000 jewel just for three hours. "Then, after that..." she slid him another piece of paper. It was a coupon for a fancy restaurant. "Ah. Thanks Mira, you always know what to do," Gajeel replied. He looked at the date. It was a month and two weeks from that date. That was the perfect amount of time.

* * *

Gajeel then walked home casually. He wasn't going to take a job because he had to think on how to approach Levy. Of course, this plan would not be put into action for a while. "Levy, I love you," sounded too mainstream. "Levy, I want to be with you forever," was too mushy. Even though this was love, he still had his boundaries. After a while, Gajeel simply ended on, "Levy, you are my mate, the only one I can be with." It still wasn't the best, but Gajeel still knew close to nothing about love so he was on his own, except for the mischievous Mira. She had already helped him enough though, he still needed to do some things on his own.

* * *

Levy walked into the guild, and was greeted by Jet and Droy. They had a friendly conversation about life, missions, and anything else. "So, anything happening between you and Gajeel?" Jet asked her. "Ummm..." she thought on what to say. "Hey, speaking of Gajeel, isn't that his bag?" Sure enough, there was a lone tote bag lying next to a stool at the bar. "Huh. I guess it _is._" Jet put emphasis on his opinion of Gajeel. "Eh. I'll deliver it to him tomorrow. I know where he lives." Jet gave her a face that displayed mixed emotions. "Want me to come with you? Something bad might happen." Levy shook her head. "I'll be fine. You guys are so overprotective of me sometimes. It's like you're brothers of mine." Droy frowned. _I want to be more than brothers, but Gajeel stands in my way. She doesn't seem sure about her feelings, but it seems pretty obvious everyone thinks it's Gajeel._


	8. Stubbornness has a price

Gajeel woke up and the weirdest thought went through his mind- _Damn, I smell nice. Did I put on a new deodorant or cologne last night? _Gajeel sniffed his armpits. _Huh. Not deodorant. I don't even smell anything there. _After a few seconds, he realized where the smell was coming from. _My hands...? Wait, this smells familiar. But where have I encountered this before?_ "Levy," he murmured to himself. Suddenly, a strange urge filled him. **Find her.** _Crap! Did I seriously forget this? Then again, it never really effected me until now..._

It was Creation Day.

The one day were all of the Dragon Slayer's heightened senses were heightened. Over the top. That was why he never smelled anything until now. _As long as I stay away from Levy, I'll be fine. Nothing bad will happen. It will be as if this day never existed._ He made the decision to take a shower. _I won't have to think about her if I don't have her scent on me. _So, Gajeel got into the shower and reluctantly scrubbed himself off. After that, he put on a plain white t-shirt and a pair of jeans. He didn't need to wear anything fancy, considering he was planning on doing absolutely nothing today. Gajeel plopped on the couch next to Lily. "I'm just going to stay here today," Gajeel told him.

"Any particular reason?" Lily asked him nonchalantly.

"Creation Day."

"Ah."

The two turned on the television lacrima, which was conveniently on a marathon of magic duels. "This ought to last us, eh?" Lily told him, playfully elbowing Gajeel. "Yeah," was his simple reply.

_TV SHOW_

_"Welcome to the marathon of EMB! This is the place for all of your battling needs. Here we take esteemed fighters from all over Fiore and pit them against each other in 'Epic Magic Battles!'._

After watching a few episodes, Gajeel walked into the kitchen, which was attached to the living room. "Want some Ramen?" Gajeel asked him. "Any other choices?" Lily asked, still watching the TV. "Nope. Just Ramen, sorry. Can't risk an excursion to the store." Gajeel closed the near-empty refrigerator, looking over his shoulder at the cat. "Ah, Ramen is better than nothing. You seriously need to cook sometime." Lily told him, now staring as Gajeel turned the sink on. "Isn't this cooking?" Gajeel asked. Lily chuckled. "Like, actual food. It might come in handy if you ever have Levy over. **Levy...Levy...She is yours. Go to her. Others might take her.**For a few seconds, Gajeel's eyes turned into tall slits. He ran to the door, barely stopping himself before he broke it open. "S***, that was close. Don't mention _her_ for the rest of today though."

After eating Ramen with Lily, the pair watched a few more episodes. Their peace was interrupted when there was a knock on the door. "Who could it be? Are we expecting anyone?" Lily asked Gajeel. "No..." Gajeel went to answer the door until he heard a familiar voice. "Hello?"

It was Levy.

_Out of all the people in this town, it HAD to be Levy. And on this specific day. How bad can my luck get? I just can't open the door. _"You there Gajeel?" Gajeel pretended like nothing happened and sat back down on the couch with Lily. "Lily, go out the back door and convince Levy to go." _Sorry Levy, but you picked the wrong time._

"Gajeel, I know you're in there! I can see you!"

Just then, Lily appeared and his wings dispelled. He asked if Levy could come tomorrow. "No, why can't I do this today?" Lily shook his head. "Gajeel told me not to tell. That Gajeel's bag?" Lily said, pointing towards the bag slung over Levy's shoulder. She nodded. "Want me to give it to him?" Lily hopefully questioned. "Nah. I want to go in and say 'Hi.'" Lily tried several other tactics, none of which worked. "Gajeel, for goodness sake, let me in!" she yelled, pounding the door. **Open it, your mate is there. Open it, open it, open it, OPEN IT! **Gajeel, who sounded unnaturally weak, tried to yell, "Levy, please, you have to go..." _Did Gajeel just say the word 'please?' This must be serious. I'm not going to go though, this is probably just a prank. _

"LEVY! YOU HAVE TO GO! JUST DO IT!" Gajeel yelled, tears streaming down his face. _I'm almost gone. My instincts are about to kick in. _"I'm not going to leave until you open this door!" she yelled stubbornly. "I'm sorry Levy, it's too late... I'm gone..." Gajeel's instincts commanded him to open the door. Levy stared in awe as Gajeel's eyes changed from tearful to tall slits. _Crap, why was I so stubborn. Can I make it if I run? Why is he after me anyway?_ Levy started to run, but Gajeel was far faster as he picked up Levy and carried her over his shoulder back into his house.

"YOU'RE MINE," came an inhumane growl from Gajeel. "Ga-Gajeel?" Levy trembled in fear. Gajeel's eyes turned back to normal. Levy sighed in relief. Before anything could happen, though, the eyes turned back. Gajeel was again controlled by his instincts. He quickly pulled Levy close, and then their lips touched. Levy let out a small moan. Then, Gajeel pushed into her, fiercely moving herself all over Levy. Gajeel's hands turned into metal claws without him noticing, and some accidental swipes raked Levy's back. Gajeel got on all fours, extracting his lips from hers. He raised his head to the sky and gave a large roar.

With one extremely accurate swipe, he sliced Levy's shirt in half, exposing her chest. Then Gajeel raised Levy into a standing position, and Levy silently pleaded. _Please... Please don't kill me... What did I do wrong?_ Gajeel then pushed Levy straight into the wall and continued the previous session. Gajeel reached his hands all over. His instincts didn't have enough respect to even follow moral boundaries. After a while, Levy lost consciousness. Gajeel's body noticed Levy was unconscious, so he threw her against another wall and Gajeel turned back to normal. He rubbed his head. It ached. _What happened...? All I remember is Levy coming to my house..._ As soon as he thought Levy, his instincts kicked in again. He sprinted over to Levy and jumped on her on all fours. Luckily, Gajeel came back to normal before doing anything else that was vulgar. Gajeel then lost consciousness and landed straight on Levy.

* * *

Gajeel woke up with an equally pleasing and disturbing sight. He was on... Levy? His excitement was pushed aside when he saw blood everywhere. He turned her over only to find several gashes down her back. _S***, I got to get her to the paramedics. What am I going to tell them though? If I try to say anything, I'll get arrested. I have to take care of her myself. _First, Gajeel bandaged up her torso, making sure to hide her breasts. _She'll be pissed about that._ Then, Gajeel gave Levy a T-Shirt and a pair of Sweat Pants. Gajeel then ran to the store.


	9. Adventure!

_**Well that's most of the action that will happen in a while. I'm not sure if a chapter can even hold that much. Here's a short chapter to kind of wind down and relax. Notice: Productivity may be delayed, so I'll have to update more on the weekends if I want to keep a better pace. Well, without further ado, enjoy!**_

* * *

Levy opened her eyes and felt pain over all of her body. _What happened this time?_ Then, she noticed a note taped to her face. _What the-_ She tore the tape off and read the note silently.

_Dear Levy,_

_I'm sorry for what happened. From when you wake up, it could have been a few hours ago or several days. Nevertheless, I've properly bandaged you and clothed you_

Levy looked down at her clothes. "What a great sense of fashion. Then again, he probably never expected to clothe a girl..."

_so that you may recover properly. The reason why my instincts betrayed me was a little something called Creation Day. A dragon's slayers senses are heightened on that day. I did not open the door then because, if I did, your smell would have wafted through and taken control of my body to an even further extent. Of course, I never had to worry about Creation Day until I met you, so it was never a problem. My own naivety led me to this repulsive event._

"Huh. I never knew Gajeel was so eloquent. Guess he chooses when he wants to be."

_If you hate me, I am fine with it, but I hope we can at least stay as friends and forget this. If not, I fully respect your decision. Well, I'm not good at apologies, so I'll end the letter right here so I don't keep rambling on. Hope you're better. If not, I'll never forgive myself._

_P.S. I made you breakfast, regardless of what time it is. Hopefully it gives you some of the energy you have lost._

_From,_

_Gajeel_

"Come to think of it, I am kinda hungry," Levy said out loud. She pulled off the covers. Luckily, the only part of her that hurt was her back. She waddled into the kitchen and opened the fridge. Inside was a container much like the one they use for leftovers at restaurants. She opened it. Eggs, Bacon, and Toast. She slid it onto a plate and heated it in the microwave. After it came out, she grabbed a fork and started picking at the food. _I have to apologize. Tomorrow would be a good day, I guess. I still have to collect myself._ Just then, she heard a doorbell. "Hi Levy-Chan!" a voice chimed from outside. _Lucy._ She opened the door. "Good morning!" Levy smiled. Lucy looked at her clothes. "It's what I wear in the morning." Levy chuckled. "Ah," Lucy replied. "So, do you want to go shopping?"

Levy thought for a bit. "Sure, let me get changed. You can come in." Levy ran into her bedroom to change. After 5 minutes or so, she walked back out in her normal attire. She had neatly folded the clothes Gajeel had lent her and intended on giving them back the next time she saw him. She left with Lucy downtown to go shopping.

* * *

Gajeel was at the guild, looking at the jobs board. _It was about time I went on a job. But what?_ Gajeel skimmed over the requests. A specific request caught his eye. First of all, it was 2 million jewel. _That'll buy me some stuff._ And the job was probably what he enjoyed the most: Taking out a dark guild. He plucked the request off the board and jogged home. He unlocked the door and yelled, "Lily, we're going on a job!" "Okay, let me pack up." Lily replied. Lily and Gajeel both packed a singular backpack, then started to walk outside of the house. "Wait." Gajeel said. "Huh?" Lily queried. "Imma write a note." Gajeel quickly ripped a piece of paper and jotted some words down on it. He took a strip of duct tape and knocked it on the door.

"C'mon, let's go." Gajeel said as Lily jumped on his shouder.


	10. Ramen Addiction

_**Whooo! Tenth chapter. Dang writers block, homework, busy schedule, LoL, excuse excuse excuse.**_

Lily and Gajeel wandered through the forest. They weren't allowed to take the train because 'pets' weren't allowed, and Gajeel argued Lily was his partner. The conductor didn't buy it. So, the two walked, bringing two long pads to sleep in the wilderness. At this particular moment, the two were sitting around a fire in the forest. Gajeel couldn't care less about the fire except for the fact they had to cook Ramen on it. "This is going to be difficult." Lily muttered. Gajeel welded some spare iron he took to make a grid and put the ramen on top. It quickly caught fire and the two had to put it out. Luckily, it was just noodles, so nothing got burnt. The two sighed in relief and tried to find a way to eat the ramen because they had refrained from bringing forks. "Well, soup time!" Lily chuckled, and the two shared the bowl in their attempt to chug Ramen.

The next morning, the two woke up and groggily continued walking. This was going to be a long trip. There wasn't much conversation between the two (well, there wasn't much to talk about anyway) so it was a somewhat awkward trip. Nothing happened during the boring and uneventful walk through the trees and foliage.

* * *

After waking up from a good night's sleep, Levy felt a lot better than she had the night before. She walked to the kitchen to make breakfast. As she was turning on the stove, she sighed. _I really messed up, didn't I? Well, today's the day I apologize. _She pulled out a pan, a few eggs, some shredded cheddar cheese, and some mushrooms. Omelettes- The classic and simple dish. Tastes good too. She put all of the ingredients together until the eggs scrambled, then flipped. After a few minutes she rolled the omelette onto a plate and ate it.

* * *

"Finally! That took forever..." Gajeel mumbled. Lily nodded, jumping onto his shoulder. "Let's book a hotel and stay the night, then we'll find these guys and beat them to a pulp." Gajeel chuckled, punching his outstretched hand. The two ordered a twin bed room and Gajeel happily jumped onto the bed without changing anything. He fell asleep after tossing and turning a bunch.

* * *

Levy went to Gajeel's house and nervously knocked on the door. After waiting awkwardly a minute or two, she knocked again. _He's probably listening to Heavy Metal or something. _Levy felt a little stalkerish by doing this, but she eventually whispered, "Solid Script: Cup!" A cup made of the letters C, U, and P formed on the ground. She picked it up and held it against the wall. _That's weird. Not even a sound. He's probably at the Grocery Store. I'll have to look for him there then._

* * *

After waking up, Gajeel took a quick shower, took his things, ate a small continental breakfast, and headed off to fight the dark guild. Their hideout was already located, but people were scared as heck to go in there. Gajeel and Lily walked through the forest, wary of any ambushes that might happen. None did though, and soon enough the two were right in front of the gates of the dark guild. Lily changed into his fighting mode and Gajeel turned his fists into iron. It was time to start the battle.

* * *

Levy had just arrived at the Grocery Store. She browsed the aisles looking for him (it would be pretty easy to find him, he had piercings all over and strange black hair). After combing through the entire store three times, the cashier stopped her and asked if she was looking for something. "Not exactly. I'm looking for someONE. The cashier said, "I'll do my best to remember who it was. Give me a description." Levy described him as tall, muscular, pierced all over, and having spiky black hair. "Yeah, he came in here a few days ago. Bought some Ramen, matches, and a sleeping bag. Seems like he's going camping, but I'm still confused about the Ramen." Levy chuckled. "He sure does like his Ramen."


End file.
